Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of The Joker in 'The Dark Knight' yesterday evening (11.01.09)

The Australian actor - who died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last January, aged just 28 - won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of villain The Joker in the Batman blockbuster.

'The Dark Knight' director Christopher Nolan accepted the accolade on Heath's behalf, making an emotional speech while the star-studded audience gave a standing ovation.

He said: "On behalf of all of us who worked with Heath on 'The Dark Knight', I accept this with mix of sadness and incredible pride. He will be eternally missed but he will never be forgotten."

The Ledger family did not attend the ceremony for "personal reasons", but his father Kim insisted they were there in spirit.

Kim said: "We are overjoyed for him. It's wonderful."

Also celebrating success at the ceremony, which was held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, was Mickey Rourke who won the Best Actor in a Drama prize for his portrayal of a down-and-out grappler in 'The Wrestler'.

The 56-year-old actor told a cheering crowd: "It's been a very long road back for me."

It was also a big night for British actress Kate Winslet, who took home two statuettes for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 'The Reader' and Best Actress in a Drama for 'Revolutionary Road'.

She paid tribute to her 'Revolutionary Road' co-star Leonardo DiCaprio - who she first starred with 1997's 'Titanic' - in her acceptance speech, saying: "Leo, I am so happy I can stand here and tell you I love you, and have for 13 years."